Misplaced Storybook
by anathebookworm
Summary: Henry wishes for a know-it-all to come to Storybrooke help him in finding a happy ending for his mom. Unfortunately, there was no way to predict who the know-it-all would be. Nor that she would be bringing someone with her because apparently Killian wasn't the only one crazy enough to jump inside a portal after a girl.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Just playing with the stories of other people, of course.**

**Notes: I am a HUGE fan of **_**Once Upon a Time **_**as well as **_**Harry Potter **_**and I am also a shipper of CaptainSwan and Dramione so I decided to put the two couples together and see what happens. Yikes! If you don't like either of them, then I would suggest that you don't read this story. I also know that not many people are fans of crossovers but hey, you never know – I wasn't either and ended writing this.**

**Summary: ****Henry wishes for a know-it-all to come to Storybrooke help him in finding a happy ending for his mom. Unfortunately, there was no way to predict who the know-it-all would be. Nor that she would be bringing someone with her because apparently Killian wasn't the only one crazy enough to jump inside a portal after a girl.**

Henry was happily bouncing on his feet, looking around Granny's for a sign that any of his moms would be coming out of the dinner already so they could go look more into their information for Operation Mongoose. He already had a guess, actually, on who their author might be – but he also guessed both of his moms wouldn't believe if he said he thought it was Walt Disney (worse yet – _Mickey Mouse!_) that was responsible for writing their stories.

It would probably make Regina sink in depression, not believing any of them to ever be able to help her find her happiness.

If only his Grandfather – not David, the other one, the _evil_ one – would still be good! Mr. Gold certainly knew something about the book because _he always knew everything! _Groaning, Henry wished he could find someone else that knew everything. Maybe if he wished hard enough, someone from his comic books – a super hero with a massive intellect, like Tony Stark, or maybe Loki if he was in a good mood – would become real and willing to help his Operation.

He could try talking to Killian again, but that never went really well because… um, Killian still wasn't sure about many things relating to modern life and Henry was not in mood to explain – again – what a GPS was or why bologna was something so popular on this realm.

Right, closing his eyes with as much force as possible, he wished with all his heart – he _was_ the Truest Believer, after all – that another someone with the power of knowing _everything_ would become real and—

"Oof!" A girl whose voice Henry was not familiar with groaned and he hastily opened his eyes again; only to face a brunette teenage girl (two or three years older than him, maybe) with the most crazy hair he had ever seen. Behind her, he saw what clearly was a portal opened by a magic bean but… who was this girl? Oh, forget that, she was starting to glare at him. "What is—"

"Henry, lad, your mothers are looking for—" Killian's thick voice sounded from the door of the dinner and really, Henry was never more grateful for ever seeing his pirate stepfather and for letting the man shield him with his bigger body. "Lad? Who's this?"

The girl had already got back to her feet now – and Henry could see that she wore a sophisticated matching uniform with patterns of red and gold in a few places. Weird. He felt like he should remember this from somewhere, but couldn't recall which fairytale – if it was even one – she was coming from. The portal behind her had yet to close, he noted, and Killian was staring at it with suspicion while pointing his hook to the girl.

She recoiled in fear the moment she realized Killian had a… well, a _hook w_here his hand should have been. Unfortunately, the portal decided that now was the moment to split another being in Storybrooke – and a blonde boy appeared then.

"Granger!" He cursed in a high pitched voice, still not seeing Killian or Henry or anything at all it seemed. "This is the last time I ever follow you to anywhere!"

He wore something very similar to what the girl did, only that the patterns on his clothes were green and silver. Weirder. The two certainly weren't coming from one of his comic books, that's for sure, but where—

"The last time I saw a portal like this it was because of Zelena." Killian said in a low voice, interrupting Henry's thoughts. "Henry, lad, go fetch your moms."

"But—"

"I am still a captain and I still make the demands here, aye?!" Henry actually gulped now and nodded hurriedly, feeling a little sorry for the two strangers that were about to know why his stepfather once was considered a villain. He still hadn't entered Granny's when he heard what Killian said next, probably still pointing his hook to the two teenagers – "Who are you? What do you want? If this has anything to do with Zelena, then I swear that you are about to—"

"We don't know anything or anyone called 'Zelena'!" The girl said quickly, bravely putting herself between the boy and Killian. Henry decided to stay a little more, just in case.

"The Wicked Witch!" Killian said again, his hook more menacing. "Are you coming from Oz, bringing more of that bloody flying creatures? I demand to know!"

"_Oz?_ The… Wicked Witch…? Oh, my Merlin…" The girl widened her eyes and Henry could see that she was looking at him and Killian at the same time, accessing the situation with what he could only related to what was in Emma's eyes the first time she came to this town. This girl's eyes, however, focused solemnly on Killian's hook and Henry noted that the boy behind her was gripping a wooden stick between his fingers. "You have… You have a _hook_ for a _hand_? Oh Merlin, you are—"

"Hook! What do you _think_ you are doing?" Oh, no. It was one of his moms now – Regina. And things were about to go to hell, Henry thought. With a flick of her wrist, she made Killian lower his menacing arm and rolled her eyes. "Emma certainly needs to tell you better how to behave outside the forest." She then turned to the teens. "And who might you be?" No matter they were strangers, Regina still had that strong instinct to be everyone's mother and obviously was not going to offer any harm to two kids a little older than her own son. Had it been Zelena or Maleficent… or even his Granfather, well…

"That would be a good moment to offer them one of your apples, Your Highness."

Ignoring Killian, his mom settled for still waiting for the teens' answer. And it was no surprise that the girl was the one to talk first yet again. "Apple… Your Highness? You are the Evil Queen!" She widened her mouth and eyes and turned to the boy accompanying her with a wild expression on her face. "Oh Merlin, Draco! Where the hell are we now?"

He shrugged but still held his wooden stick – a wand, it seemed – carefully pointed to Killian. "You are the know-it-all, Granger, I don't have all the answers."

But Henry was focusing on his mom now – the girl certainly chose the wrong words. Calling his mom the Evil Queen when she was a little… down with their quest of finding her happy ending, well, it wasn't very clever. It was actually enough for her to start a fireball with her hands and put herself protectively in front of him. Ugh, why all of them thought he still needed protection? He was the Truest Believer and could defend himself sometimes too!

"How do you know that?" She paused to share a look with Killian. "It's my sister again. Isn't it?"

_That_ seemed not to be the right course of action either, because now both teens had their wands up, each one pointing at one of Henry's relatives. And they stayed like that for a little while, just waiting for the other to move while Henry was being protected and the strange duo tried to protect each other.

Until, of course, Henry decided that it had been enough, despite his mother's protests.

"Wait, let's calm down. I'm Henry Mills, alright, and I'm not going to hurt any of you. I can promise my mom and my stepdad won't either." He said calmly, looking right in the eyes of the girl, who he imagined was the one making the decisions there. "You are both in Storybrooke and just met its mayor, Regina Mills, who also happen to be my mother and… once was the Evil Queen, too. Not anymore, though. Oh, yes", he smiled a little to Killian, hoping to make the man calm a little like when his other mom smiled at him. "And this is Killian, my other mom's boyfriend, who also happened to have been Captain Hook once, too. But they are both nice, don't worry."

"Henry, you are making me feel like Pongo." His mom drawled from behind.

"Aye, lad. Or maybe like she-wolf."

"Ruby? Yes, that's more like it!" His mom agreed, the playful tune for once in her voice.

Seeing as none of them made more protests against his greeting, he turned back to the strangers and tried to smile a little more. "As I said, they are both nice. Who are you, though? And where did you come from? Maybe… if you are lost, maybe my other mom can help. She and Killian have a certain expertise at travelling through magic beans."

Still gaping, the bushy haired girl offered a nod to him and lowered her wand. "I… I am Hermione Granger and this is—"

"Malfoy." The boy at her side drawled, not lowering his wand like she did. He was the one to point his weapon at Regina now, eyeing her with awe and fear, probably because of the fireball. "And I didn't understand a thing that just happened, Granger."

It clicked, then. Why they seemed oddly familiar. Henry wondered why it took him so much to realize.

"You are from _Harry Potter_!" He exclaimed excitedly, bouncing on his feet again. Of course! It made sense now – he asked for someone that knew everything, and who knew more than Hermione Granger? He was so stupidly slow for not realizing it sooner!

"I am mostly certainly not—"

The blonde boy – who now Henry recognized as none other than Draco Malfoy – was interrupted by Hermione. "No, we are from England. Harry is—"

"A book!" Henry said, still bouncing around. "It's so amazing! My other mom – Emma – she loves this story! She will love to see you both here! I'm going to call her – don't go anywhere!"

And with that he was gone, inside Granny's, leaving the four staring at one another with suspicion and awkwardness. Regina recognized the story now, too, but Killian still was having a little difficulty with everything – just like Hermione started understanding things while Draco still hadn't had a clue about what the actual hell was happening and why he was missing his Godfather's class.

He looked at Granger for a second, hoping that she would explain to him something but she still had that funny expression on her face. "They are… Captain Hook and the Evil Queen, Draco, both characters in Muggle books for children. You know… like the tale of the three brothers that you probably grew up hearing, they are the same thing." He nodded then, but made a mental note to ask better when they were somewhere safe. Or safer, whatever.

Killian looked to Regina now, with the same funny expression Hermione had a moment ago. "Well, the lad has yet to show me the _vovie_ thing containing these two."

"_Movie_." She corrected him. "But well, I have seen it and there most certainly wasn't a scene where these two were amiable towards each other. Let alone be holding hands like they are now!"

Killian shrugged. "They are in the right place, then. Where better to start anew than the place the Evil Queen fell in love with Robin Hood while Captain Hook fell for Snow White's daughter?"

"Since when did Snow White has a daughter?" Hermione asked with her mouth open at the same time that Draco growled he wasn't "holding hands with Granger, just comforting her before she started screaming her head off."

"I'm not sure." Killian answered the girl nonetheless, all animosity gone by now. "Emma is twenty-nine. But with so many curses, it's hard to be sure."

"Curses?" Hermione pushed, her know-it-all side taking the better of her. "You mean like… someone like the Wicked Witch of West is throwing hexes at you?" She mouthed _another character from a Muggle story _to Draco before he could ask anything now.

"No, he mean like the Dark Curse – powerful pieces of magic capable of destroying people's happy endings." Regina answered with a little blush, knowing she was the one to cast the first of these curses on them.

"Oh, cheesy." Draco sneered, chuckling a little. "It seems so horrible to not have a _happy ending _or whatever it is. You wouldn't last a second to the Dark Lord if this is your biggest worry." Hermione shushed him, of course, but the damage was already done.

Fortunately for them, Killian and his lack of knowledge on their story continued talking before anyone could make a worse move. "I don't know about that, lad. After Cora, Pan, Maleficent, Cruella, Ursula, the Snow Queen, Zelena and the bloody Crocodille, Rumpelstiltskin, I think we are more than ready to face anyone."

"Don't call me 'lad'. Malfoys are not low enough to be called that."

This time it was Hermione's turn to cover Draco's nasty mouth. "You mean then that all fairytale characters are real? And here? Living together and trying to find their happy endings?"

"Yes, you basically described our lives." Regina waved her hand in dismissal. "But it's not as easy as it may sound. Many of us are still without a happy ending – or even the prospect of ever having one." Her voice was bitter at the last part, just like it was when she remembered about something relating to Robin.

"But not you, I suppose. You both have your happy endings, if what… _Hook_ said is true. You have Robin Hood, is that it? I wonder where Lady Marian is."

"I—"

"Henry, I already told you that people can't come from _Harry Potter_ because it's not a fairytale, kid." Emma's voice drawled and Draco was opening his mouth say _finally someone with a brain _when the pretty blonde, their Savior, saw the duo in front of Granny's. "Oh my God! You are from _Harry Potter! _I am so calling Mary Margaret and David here!"

And then Draco sighed, because he apparently was trapped with bloody lunatics that came from something nor Muggle and nor magical.

At least he had Granger. Probably it was because of this people talking about their nonsense, but he had to admit that he quite liked Granger. Else he wouldn't have jumped inside a bloody portal to follow her – and make sure she didn't do anything stupid as she most likely would, that was.


	2. Chapter 2

It was really funny, Henry had to admit, seeing his family arguing over whether they should take the two outsiders – Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy, he still couldn't believe they were real and in Storybrooke – to Granny's or to Mary Margaret's place. It was just like when Elsa came and they debated for hours where to take her. And just like Elsa, they decided on taking _everyone_to Mary Margaret's.

(He wondered how so many people always fit in there and secretly wished for it to have been his grandparents' palace.)

They obviously stopped by Granny's, though, because Killian insisted on getting some bologna to their guests.

(His mom – Emma – laughed secretly for a whole minute, thinking no one would notice her reddened expression.)

When they finally made it to his Grandmother's, everything was silent.

Except for baby Neal, that was.

His mom Regina and Mary Margaret went to see and coo around the baby, though, and he was left with his other mom, David, Killian and the magical duo. He had to give them some credit because for the look on his mom's face, she was dying to ask them thousands of things.

Thinking about it, when he looked at Hermione's face she seemed to be wanting to ask things, too.

But he beat both of them – "So, um…" He cleared his throat, a little uncomfortable under Draco's stare. "Why are you here?"

"_How_are you here, he means." His Grandpa added, also looking a little uncomfortable. "Unfortunately, I have been under some sort of coma for long years and couldn't get the chance to read your book. So it would be nice to know what to expect from… uh, your realm."

"_Realm?_" Draco snickered. "Who the hell says that?" He was, of course, once again shushed by Hermione who murmured something about being "unwillingly apparateted".

"The lad said something about a 'Dark Lord'. Is he someone we should be worrying about?" Killian asked, looking to the teens and Emma.

His girlfriend shook her head. "If we have Harry Potter on our side, then there's nothing to worry about Voldemort (Draco cringed at that). I _would_worry, actually", she looked quickly at Draco, "about his aunt. She gave me the creeps everytime."

Instinctively, Hermione positioned herself between his mom and Draco, pointing her wand to them. "He's nothing like Bellatrix! And we won't talk about her here!"

And that resulted in Killian trying to protect Emma with pointing his hook to the teens _again_.

_It's going to be a long day,_Henry thought with a sigh. But then a light appeared on his brain and he raced to his mom's room – only to come back a minute later with _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_tucked under his arm. He offered it to Hermione and smiled. "This is a part of your story. My favorite part, actually. It's… a little while before Draco becomes a Death Eater."

Draco had his hand on his wand and was preparing to point it at Henry when Hermione grabbed his fingers between hers and nodded weakly at Henry, accepting the book and starting to look at it. She paused somewhere in the middle to show Henry a part in which she was at one of the encounters on the Room of Requirements. "I had just left from this. Every word… it is what is here. Every single word." She looked at Draco then, observing his haunted expression with tears on her eyes, and finally back to Henry. "You said that he… you said that Draco would…"

At this moment, the blonde boy in question decided it was time to hug the girl tightly on his arms, ignoring everyone else on the room, letting her hide her face in the crook of his neck while he looked at everyone with an inquisitive expression. He didn't say a thing, though, and Henry wondered if it was because he didn't want to face what would happen or if he didn't Hermione crying even more.

His mom, being the only adult there that knew the complete story, sighed and gestured for the teens to sit. "I'm sorry." She whispered, taking Killian's hand in hers. "But this is just… what happens next. You two weren't even supposed to be friends, actually."

It made Hermione whimper a little and Draco to nod, his face a shade paler while he accessed Emma, probably trying to decide what to say. "I don't… I don't want to be a Death Eater. I ran from this at the beginning of the term, asking for Hermione to help me escape this… this stupid, bloody thing." He looked about to cry too – and this was the moment for Killian to relate to the boy, because really, even without knowing the details he could tell a "Death Eater" was a villain, just like Captain Hook was supposed to be. He knew how much it hurt to be something other people made you to be, something that was far from everything you ever believed in.

_Poor lad. Not even Tink could make this one smile,_he shook his head, waiting for whoever decided on speaking next.

"This never happened on the book." Emma said, frowning her beautiful forehead to the pale kids in front of her. Picking the book back, she looked a little at the beginning just to be sure. "Yes, there's nothing even remotely near what you are saying."

"I'm not lying if that's what—"

"I didn't say you were, kid." She interrupted Draco, the frown still in place. "But you are changing things, then. Changing the story, just like…" She looked at Killian, the frown a little deeper.

"Just like we did with Zelena's portal. Aye, love." He nodded to her, finally realizing that David and Henry had left by now. "But everything turned out like it should in the end, Swan." He said with a little more emphasis, because for as much as he had threatened the lad and lass, he wouldn't want them to have hope on something based on what they did in the Enchanted Forest before.

"No." Emma shook her head stubbornly. "Not everything."

"Swan?"

"We saved Marian, Killian, in the past. We went to my father's wedding ball! We appeared on the book when we shouldn't. But think about Marian – she was supposed to be dead by now and yet she isn't. Because we changed that when we were on the past. Maybe they are doing the same thing."

Hermione had stopped crying – was still clutched to Draco, though – and was intently listening to every word being exchanged by the odd couple in front of her. They gave her hope. They made her brain work again with possibilities and possibilities.

"If it's so easy as you say, then we can just… change things? Act according to our will when we supposedly don't have any?" She asked in a small voice, her intellect trying to come with some way to save Draco from any harm. "You said that you two are Captain Hook and Snow White's daughter, yes? You two weren't supposed to be together, nor even met each other, either."

"It's different." Emma argued, shaking her head. "We were cursed, all of us here experienced at least one sort of messing curse, between sleeping curses and having our hearts taken away from our chests. We s_houldn't_know each other, but… the Author apparently decided he wanted it this way."

This had Hermione on her feet, looking at them with widened eyes. "Your a_ctual_heart? Is that possible?"

Killian snorted and received a glare from Emma – that didn't stop him from talking, though. "Aye, lass, it's very possible. The most cruel way to kill someone… is by crushing one's heart. Believe me when I say we all have seen it happen by one witch or another." His expression was dark, probably thinking back on what Rumple did so long ago to him and his first love.

"_I_am a witch and I cannot do that, I assure you." Hermione rolled her eyes, her patience thin. "But this really doesn't interest me. All of you are looking for your happy endings, yes? That's what you do here? Well, then I want you to help Draco with his."

"Granger, I don't—"

"Shut up, Draco."

Emma seemed to be thinking, but Killian already had something on his mind – something that he thought was quite obvious, actually. "Well, lass, we can ask the Author about you two. We have to find him before Cruella and Maleficent, so I don't see why we can't ask for his help for you two. He should be able to give people their happy endings, aye?"

"It's not so simple, Killian." Emma insisted again, her head starting to hurt. "The Author did not write _their_ stories. He wrote _ours_. You can't ask him to write a fanfiction."

"A what?" The three other echoed, but Killian recovered first, still looking at Emma intently and gesturing towards the teens. He felt quite sympathetic towards the lad now, and when he started liking someone, well… "Love, the question is that they are here now, for whatever reason. They are part of our story now. We should help them – isn't it what you heroes do?"

After long minutes of silence and shaking her head, Emma nodded.

"You are a hero, too, Killian." She then turned to Hermione and Draco, who were looking at each with an intensity that she had seen only Killian looking at her before. And this moment she decided that she would do whatever she could to help them, because she wasn't the Savior for nothing. "Alright. I supposed I should let you in 'Operation Mongoose' then."


	3. Chapter 3

After some hours of talking and moping and sniffing, Emma decided that it was best to try and give their guests a little more of comfort – meaning that she decided on taking Hermione to the Sheriff Station (where they would apparently have a "girl's talk") and left Killian to take care of the glaring blonde boy, Draco.

It was awkward at first, indeed, but Killian was already really feeling sympathy enough for the boy to restrain in offering a bologna sandwich – and even to start trying small talks.

The lad, on the other hand, didn't seem very comfortable now that Hermione wasn't around and only nodded or offered short answers to Killian.

Until it was enough and the pirate couldn't help but sigh loudly. Why couldn't their dear Prince Charming do that? He had no experience in being a father to anyone so leaving him to babysit wasn't really a good idea on his eyes. The last time he tried that, Henry had him knocked on his ass. "Listen, lad, Emma is just taking the lass to breathe a little. They will be back soon – and there is no reason to don't trust Emma."

"You would say that, wouldn't you?" Draco snapped back before shaking his head in despair. "I'm not used to trusting people, that's all."

"Aye, but _trust me_ when I say that I am well aware of how that feels. I am Captain Hook, after all." Killian laughed a little at the last part – courtesy of Henry, who was making him see little by little the differences between his real self and the him on the stories of this realm. "But when you stay too much near this heroes types, the thing start rubbing on you, lad."

Draco shook his head again and Killian could tell – for he had a look on his eyes that Henry often wore – that he was curious about something.

"Ask away, lad."

"What? I didn't say anything." Draco snapped again – years with Lucius tended on doing this to a person, he would say. He sighed when he saw the smirk on Killian's face, though, and nodded curtly. "I don't know… this story. Of 'Captain Hook' or whatever."

Killian chuckled a little. "Aye, I thought you wouldn't. This realm has a bloody story about a magical boy _who wouldn't grow up_, named Peter Pan. In this story, Pan fights what he considers as 'evil' – the pirates of Neverland, who are all under the command of the ruthless and very _un_dashing Captain Hook." Killian's smile disappeared, for he remembered his own version of this story. "There are many holes on this story, but I was indeed in Neverland commanding a pirate ship for a few years. That was before I met my Swan, thought. My beautiful and stubborn lass." He smiled fondly, thinking back to when they were back in time and he saw another version of himself flirting with Emma.

Draco snorted.

"Yes, and you changed for her and it's all cheesy now. You are all bloody happy and planning a perfect life together – yes, I could see that, thank you."

"It wasn't always like that." Killian frowned. "The first time we saw each other, Swan had a bloody knife pointed to my neck, threatening to feed me to the trolls." Draco snickered a little, and despite his smirk at seeing the lad smiling a little more, Killian huffed. "That wasn't funny. She locked me with a giant shortly after and punched me in the face more times than I care to count."

"She did?" Draco smiled a little wider, inclining his head in interest. "Hermione punched me when we were younger. Hurt like hell." They shared a secret smile, laughing together with their own memories. "Even so, I could never hate her like I was expected to."

The look on Draco's face made Killian's heart clench – he remembered that despair, that sadness at the time his Swan didn't remember him and was living happily in her realm, ready to marry a bloody monkey.

"I will let you in a little secret, lad." He leaned forward conspiratorially. "When I first realized I was in love with Emma, she was being pressed by her parents to stay with Bae, the father of her lad. And when I was so deeply in love with her that it hurt to even think, she had no memories of me and was engaged to another man." The pirate frowned with disgust, still remembering that bloody Walsh wanker. "And yet we learned that we would eventually get together – because we are from _fairytales_, like they say, and we can eventually discover who the one we are meant to with is. Our 'True Love', is what we call it. It was revealed then… maybe because I never gave up on her – I don't know, lad – but Emma was my True Love. And I was hers." He sighed, preparing for the last part – the one that he hoped would make the lad understand what he was trying to say. "And I was still a villain, lad. I'm still am sometimes. I do… lots of things that I regret and I am well aware that my heart is still a little dark, but that doesn't mean I don't love Emma. You are what you are – and people will eventually understand that; accept and love you for that."

Draco nodded slowly, his eyes little glassy. "I really care for Hermione, I do, but I'm not… good enough for her. My family would give anything to curse and torture and kill her and her friends and I… I used to be like this, too…" He looked at the book that Emma left on the table in front of them and snorted. He gestured towards the boy on the cover, Potter himself. "Hermione is probably 'meant to be' with Potter or his sidekick, the bloody Weasel. Even if she cared for me a little… I'm still a pureblood. And she is still a Muggle-born. I wouldn't do that to her – make her stay with me when it obviously will only cause her pain later because, let's face it, our stupid society – and our friends, too – would never support this. She wouldn't be happy with me because that would mean… she had to choose between this and being with her friends."

"Ah, lad, you don't know that. I am pirate, after all, and Emma is a princess. Even when I wasn't a pirate, I was just a lowly Lieutenant. Someone not meant to be a suitor for the princess. Her parents thought so, too. Her son even said he hated me once, actually. But it did not matter in the end, because we are still together and they learned how to deal with this – I have given my home and almost my life for Emma more than once already. They all can see what it means, lad."

"I'm…" Draco frowned and bit his lips, preparing to hurt Malfoy his pride more than he ever did before. "I'm too coward to do this. I don't know if I would give her my life. I would _want to_, but I'm still too coward. And I still love my family too much."

Killian patted the boy's shoulder with affection, smiling a little. "You would be surprised to test that theory, lad." He paused, thinking if he was right in adding this last part. "I wouldn't say that lass doesn't care about you either. From what I saw here, she would do anything to help you. And if this isn't caring for, then lad, I don't what it is."

"She's just being a Gryffindor." He insisted stubbornly.

"I don't know what it is, but you should talk to her. Tell her what you told me and let her participate on this decision – if there is something that Emma taught me after all this time, is that no woman wants to have someone making decisions for her. Yours is no different, I suppose."

"I suppose."

"You should walk around the town, lad, talk to other people here. You don't have to tell them your story, but ask about theirs. You will see how many peasants and nobles got together here. Because I'm assuming that is your major problem with the lass – and I can go farther and say that you are the noble one, aye? You certainly act a lot like our dear Evil Queen did when she wanted to demand respect."

"Bloody pirate." He muttered, running his fingers through his perfect hair. "This nonsense must be rubbing on me, because I'm already feeling like a love puppy."

Killian laughed out loud, nodding. "Aye, aye. That's exactly it. But you will see – it's very much worth it."

After some minutes of amiable silence with Draco staring at everything around him – maybe thinking how _Muggle_ the house seemed to be – and playing with his wand while Killian looked inside the book the girls had left, they started talking again.

Draco was the one to initiate it this time. "Do you think…" He started cautiously, looking at everywhere but Killian. "Do you think that I can choose not to be a Death Eater and stay with Granger? Fight by her side and against my family, I mean."

Killian seemed to be considering this cautiously, thinking hard about how to answer that. Then—

"I don't know what a 'Death Eater' is, lad, but—"

"Cruel wizards and witches who like to torture and kill people like Hermione and—and her family, just because they don't have magic like us."

"—but I think you can always choose who you want to be. You have to weight everything and see what will make you happier – although I think we both know what this is going to be. And—" The pirate smiled slyly, arching an eyebrow. "I am not magical. Had you the chance, would you want to kill me because of this? Because the only magical beings you met here are Emma, her lad and the Queen. You would have liked discussing this with Elsa – another witch –, I think."

Frowning, Draco pursued his lips. "I might have considered doing something to you when I first came here because you were threatening Granger, but… I don't think I have a reason to even _consider_ killing you now. Unless it's to save my own life or Granger's, I don't think I would cause any harm to you lot here." He answered truthfully, surprising even himself by how honest that sounded.

And the pirate was more than satisfied with this answer, it seemed, because the man continued to smirk like a fool. Before he could say anything else, though, Emma and the young witch had come back – both smiling a little, with Emma looking quite pleased with herself.


	4. Chapter 4

"Can I show you something, Hermione?" Emma whispered conspiratorially to the girl after they were done talking about Henry's Operation Mongoose. When the girl nodded, she beamed a little – just like Henry usually does – and turned to Killian. "I'll go to the Station, alright? Be back soon, though." She kissed him quickly, ignoring the couple of teens for a few seconds. "You want something?"

"Go ahead, lass, we'll be waiting here." He smiled back, nodding towards the door.

Nodding and smiling at Killian, she looked at Hermione and started walking. "Come on, it's not far from here."

She could see that the girl was looking at her own companion then, probably having a silent chat if she was right in her suppositions about them, before they seemed to have reached an agreement – with the boy scowling silently and Hermione walking to her side.

She ignored the Bug when they passed near it – the Station wasn't that far and they both could do with a walking to calm their minds – and turned to Hermione, analyzing the girl's expression for any sign of one that might be considering running away. When she found none, she sighed. "I'm guessing you have a few questions, uh?"

Hermione Granger – for the first time in her life, Emma thought – shrugged at that offer. "I think I understand what is happening here – I just don't see how this is possible."

"Mmhm, but you believe in Hogwarts, don't you?" When they were safely inside the Sheriff Station and absolutely away from Gold and his prying eyes, Emma waved her hand around and created a ball of glowing white light. "Do you believe in this?"

Hermione widened her eyes. "You can do wandless and voiceless magic!" Then the implications of what she just said dawned on her. "You… you are a witch, too."

Nodding and making the ball of light disappear, Emma smiled. "Now you trust me a little more?"

"I never said I didn't." The girl defended, frowning. "But now I do have questions – how can you do that? As if… it's the easiest thing in the world? Are you… are you a—you know… like me?"

"_Muggle-born_?" Emma laughed a little but nodded nonetheless. "We don't use these terms here, but yes, you could say that. Mom and Dad don't have magic and I think that's the meaning of your question."

"And there are… more like you here?"

"Quite a few. Regina can do magic, too – but so could her mother. Regina's sister is magical as well, but I don't think you will be meeting any relative of Regina seeing that they are… well, that the majority of them are evil and dead." She gulped and shook her head, going back to the point. "Gold can do magic as well. His dad could, too, but not because he was magical – more like because of where he was. There are three other witches here, too, but I would suggest you to stay away from them. Unless you fancy meeting someone like…" She paused, trying to think of someone from Hermione's world that could be used as a comparison. "Unless you want to meet someone like Bellatrix Lestrange, I would say it's better to keep me and Regina as the only… w_itches_you might find here."

Taking her turn to gulp and nod, Hermione prepared for the next question – one that had been on the back of her mind since she first heard them talking about it. "Can you—take someone's heart from—from their chest?"

That gave Emma a pause. She remembered that fateful day at the Clock Tower then, with Gold ready to crush Killian's heart while she couldn't do a thing to stop him.

Taking deep breaths of air, she shook her head. "Maybe. I would never do this, though – I have… I have only 'experience' in putting people's heart back in place, if you want to know."

Tilting her head in understandment, Hermione said – "Hook's?"

"Yeah… And consider this as one more warning – Gold was the one to do this to him. That man has a thing for crushing people's hearts just because he feels like it." She paused when she remember another thing that she should be telling Hermione, seeing as they were already on this. "You also wouldn't want to have your heart taken from you because the person who owns it will be able to control you as they like. Like the_Imperius c_urse, I think."

"You seem to know a lot about this."

"This is unfortunately something that happens quite a lot here. We all are always aware of that and… well, some of us even prefer to keep our hearts away from our chests, hidden in somewhere safe. It's a way to protect your True Love too, I guess."

Hermione arched one eyebrow and this was all it took to have Emma chuckling a little. "We all have a pair here, you will see. This brings some good things, yeah, but… Mm, it can be used against us as well – Belle and my mother once talked about how some couples can… 'share a heart', or something, meaning that if yours is taken and crushed – then your True Love will probably die with you. It's quite melancholic, actually."

"It's… a lot to take in."

"It surely is." Emma nodded. "You want to ask anything else, kid? I thought you would be asking about… well, about your own story."

"These _Harry Potter_books you were talking about before, you mean?" The girl grimaced. "I don't think I want to know more than I already do. Not after what you told me about Draco and… him being a… Well, you know."

"Yeah." She paused, accessing the girl cautiously. "But he had his reasons to do what he did on the books, kid. I never thought it was simply 'because he was evil'."

"_He's not evil!_" Hermione exclaimed only to take deep calming breaths shortly after. "Sorry. It's just hard not to defend him after spending so much time together." She paused and looked at the older witch carefully, testing the words on her tongue before actually speaking them. "Does he…" She cleared her throat, ready to try again. "If the War we are all expecting there happens, does Draco… survives?"

Emma bit her lips. She didn't know if it was wise to tell people about their futures but what the hell?, they were already talking and the girl seemed to be changing everything on that story. "Yes." She answered slowly, watching the relief on Hermione's face before it morphed back to a frown.

"Do I?"

This took her a little more time to answer. "Yes. You both do."

"But?"

_Ah, clever girl. Not the brightest witch of her age for nothing._"But you are never together, not even as friends."

"Why not?" Hermione asked but quickly shook her head, a sad smirk on her face. "He marries a Pureblooded witch, doesn't he?"

Massaging her temple, Emma pursued her lips. Never in her life she hated Astoria Greenglass so much for making her explain this to Hermione now. "Yeah, kid, he does, but the situation was entirely different – you didn't like each other in that story. It just wouldn't make sense to see you two together when you never tried being amiable to each other – _but t_his doesn't mean this is how the story you are living right now will end." She shook her head again, feeling a headache coming for trying to put this into words. She wished _so_ hard for Mary Margaret to be here, being the one to explain this to the girl. "You both are changing the things supposed to be happening and this means – if my experience with time is correct, I guess – that you will change one hell lot of what happens later. If you want to stay with him now, then it does make sense, kid. And the entire story changes."

Hermione sighed and dropped herself on the couch Emma loved to sit to talk with Killian – however, this time she sat with the young version of Hermione Granger and did her best to make the girl understand how things worked in Storybrooke and how stories _could c_hange all the time.

"I just… I just care about him, you know? I know I shouldn't, but I just do." She said in a whisper, barely lifting her eyes to look at Emma. "I want to help him. And I want… to keep him around, I guess. But I also guess this would be the same that putting big red targets on us for when the War begins. The Mudblood and the Death Eater", she snorted without humor. "If we are part of a novel, then I could even say that we had a chance of ending like Lily and James Potter. Poetic, wouldn't it be? Getting together despite everything… only to receive the Killing Curse in the end."

Frowning and pursuing her lips – she never liked James Potter when reading the books – Emma thought what to offer as answer for that. "If you want my advice, I wouldn't suggest getting pregnant so young, kid." She grinned when this came to her head, despite how self-depreciative the comment was meant to sound. "If you want to be like Lily and James, then you will need a baby. And as I said, I wouldn't suggest getting preggs now."

Hermione snorted and chuckled a little, despite her frown. Emma took this as a cue to continue – "I don't think Draco would want to meet Scorpius this soon." –only to slap her hand to her forehead, scolding herself for talking too much again.

The smiled disappeared from Hermione's face. "Scorpius? He—he not just marries a Pureblood but also have a son with her? Harry and Ron would say it was just s_o_obvious." She blinked rapidly, trying to keep her tears at bay. "And I would say I'm so idiot for ever thinking it could be different, no matter how close we came to be."

Patting the girl awkwardly on the shoulder, Emma sighed. "Sorry, kid, I didn't mean to say that." She sighed, looking for something less lame to say. "But I told you before, Hermione, that you are changing things now – I can't tell you what will happen when _what already happened_ to you both is different from what I know."

"I guess it doesn't matter anyway, does it? I just want to go home now, back to Hogwarts."

"We'll find a way to do that, don't worry. Regina probably is already working on this." She smiled, trying to sound a little more cheerful. "And while you are still here, what do you say about I trying to teach you how I do my magic and you do the same for me? Sounds good?"

A small smile made its way to Hermione's mouth and she nodded. "Sounds very good. I would actually love to know more about your magic."

And then the girl went back to smiling and Emma could say she looked forward to trying to show her everything Regina already taught her if only to make the girl believe how different everything was becoming.


	5. Chapter 5

It was slowly getting dark outside and Emma had left with Killian to do whatever it is that the daughter of Snow White and Captain Hook usually did together. The _Harry Potter _book was still forgotten on the coffee table and Hermione couldn't stop staring at it – half expecting someone she knew from school to jump out of the book.

"It's getting creepy, Granger. You know that, right?" Draco drawled from her side – even though _he s_till stared at the book with uneasiness. "It's just a bloody book about Saint Potter. Can't say I'm surprised, though."

Hermione turned her glaring eyes at him and shook her head disapprovingly. "If this is just a book, then we are too. Then _you_ are not real."

"Well, I do know a few creative ways to prove to you that I am very real, Granger."

"Now _you_ are being creepy here, Draco." She sighed and was reaching to the book when a noise – coming from the kitchen, maybe? – caught her attention. "Did you hear that?"

Draco opened his mouth – the word "what" lazily read to roll from his tongue – when he heard a chipping noise. Seemed like someone was messing with the china or something, he thought. When he looked back at Hermione, she had her wand in hand and he wanted to smack himself in the face for being slow.

"I'll go see what it is." She whispered.

He grabbed her elbow the moment his brain realized she was getting up from the couch. "Are you bloody out of your rocker? This is no time to be the Golden Girl, ready to get herself petrified again!"

"Well, I will let you remember that you wished for far wor—" Her sentence was interrupted when the noise chimed again. Frowning and taking her chance to move while Draco wasn't with his full attention on her, she strode to the kitchen feeling rather confident with herself after what Emma taught her earlier about wandless and voiceless magic.

"Looking for something, _dearie_?" A voice asked happily from behind Hermione when she was finally in the middle of the kitchen. Draco appeared on her side in an instant, facing whoever it was first. "I would say it's rude to point things to people, foolish boy."

When she whipped her head around, she faced two people – a man in a dark suit with longish brown-grey hair and a woman in fur and diamonds and… with her hair half white and half black. _Oh Merlin, things only get worse and worse…_

"Oh, my darlings! We have new meat here, Rumple, darling!" The woman said with a smirk, accessing Draco and Hermione with disturbing interest.

"Yes, Cruella, we do." He agreed without looking at her. Instead he looked at Hermione first and pursued his lips. "You are right where you belong, dearie, with a bunch of self-proclaimed heroes that match you just well. But you—" He turned to Draco and his lips formed an evil grim. "You, boy, have potential. I wouldn't even need to take your little heart out of your chest to know it's filled with darkness."

"Just like ours, Rumple." Cruella said smugly, shaking her head. "And he does seem magical. I wonder—"

"You don't wonder anything." Rumple stopped her and walked closer to the widen-eyed couple. His hand was itching to just go near the boy's chest and have a peak of his heart, if only to prove his point. The Dark One was always right, you see – and he always needed everyone to know this. _To fear this. _Even Belle did now… he shook his head, clearing his mind from thoughts of Belle when the only thing she probably felt for him was disgust. "You see, boy, the girl here is not like you. I can guarantee you that you will have more benefits for yourself if you join Cruella and I here." He thought of something and chuckled darkly. "Unless, of course, you want to end like Hook – the little puppy of a Savior."

Hermione was already beginning to put herself between Draco and the man when she felt and saw a pale hand on her shoulder. For a small moment she panicked that Draco might hear what the man was saying – after discovering so many things about him and having so many doubts in her mind after talking to Emma, she couldn't help it. But Draco only stood there, in front of her protectively, and Hermione thought this was really stupid that he would do that when he was the one in danger there. But alas, maybe her Gryffindor ways were rubbing on him.

"I don't think either of you are welcome here." He said slowly, hiding his shaky hand behind his back, pretending to be facing one of that people that started going to his house before he left. Some of _his _followers.

"Brave you are, boy. But not strong enough to face the Dark One, I'm afraid." Rumple's threat, however, was not imminent there. He wanted so much to have the boy's heart, to feel its darkness...

"This is quite enough." Hermione said firmly, putting her body in front of Draco's – only to be thrown back against the sink by some very powerful magic. Wandless and voiceless, just like Emma's – but with a darker feel than hers. "Let me go! And leave Draco alone!"

"Ah, Draco, so that's your name, boy?" Rumple smiled, ignoring Hermione's protests and whines. Cruella was currently walking closer to the girl so he just assumed she could take care of this for now. "You know what it means, I suppose. Maleficent will be delighted to meet you."

"Yes, another dragon for Mal. How wonderful, darling." Cruella said with a roll of her eyes.

Looking distressed, Draco forced his best tough façade – the mask he always wore whenever his father asked something he knew would result in punishment. "Release Granger first if you want me to talk to you."

"Draco, don't!"

Once again, Hermione was ignored for Rumple seemed happy to comply with Draco's exigencies. Cruella was holding the girl anyway, so what harm could release her do?

Rumple nodded and did as the boy wished. "Now, I would like to take a look on that pretty heart of yours, dearie. If only to show you how right I am – and how much darkness is inside yourself."

Draco closed his eyes and tried to block Hermione's protests while he walked to the man who claimed to be able to put his hear out of his chest. He wondered if this would kill him – but thought against it because the man wanted _him _to see _his own _heart. But anyhow, the fear had him pressing his wand tighter against his fingers and only then he realized he was pointing it to the crazy man (that would make an absolutely wonderful Death Eater, he thought, enough to make Aunt Bella proud).

"Oh, _Draco_, stop pointing this as if you could really harm me." The man chuckled and in a second Draco felt like hit by an _Expelliarmus_. And his wand was not in hand anymore.

"Quick darling, I want a peak too!" Cruella smiled and watched for Rumple to do the move and—

—they were both thrown away from the younger pair by _light _magic.

"Back off from the kids!" Emma exclaimed, appearing on the kitchen with her hands glowing white. Her glare, directed to Rumple and Cruella, however, had nothing to do with the light that emanated from her palms. "Get out of here, Gold, before I decide to do more than hold you."

"Ah, Miss Swan and…" He cocked his head a little to examine the scene, "and pirate, of course."

"Crocodile." Killian hissed under his breath when he locked eyes with the man. Without removing his eyes from the Dark One, he kneeled on Draco's side and starting checking for any injuries. "Alright, lad?"

The pirate looked briefly away from the Crocodile to check on the lad again – and to see his shaky nod – when the _poof! _of magic was heard.

And then Rumple and Cruella were not there anymore.

Emma quickly ran to Hermione and did exactly what Killian was doing for Draco – checking for anything of out ordinary. When she was satisfied, she frowned. "Hermione, what happened? How did Gold enter here?"

The bushy haired witch only shook her head, baffled, shocked. And then her eyes focused on Draco, finally, and she ran to him—

—only to slap him hard. And then hug him even harder.

There was no sound in the kitchen island until Killian whispered to his Savior – "Come on, Swan, they need to be alone now."

Frowning – because really, they _were_ alone and look at what just happened! – Emma agreed to take Killian's arm and walk a little away from the teens.

"You big idiot!" Hermione whined when she was certain they were alone; for a moment, she thought of slapping Draco again but decided against it. "What the bloody hell were you thinking?!"

Draco only shook his head and hugged Granger closer again. "I have no idea, Granger. I have absolutely no idea." But somehow he couldn't help but remember his earlier talk with the pirate about giving his life to the one he cared about. Bloody pirate, had to be right.


	6. Chapter 6

6: H and D go on a date at Granny's and met Belle. She shows them the library and H becomes interested in looking for more about where they were

After the incident, Draco and Hermione were once again checked for anything that Rumple might have done to them – this time by Regina's hands. She, however, only had a relieved smile to offer:

"Fortunately for you, I don't see anything permanent here." She narrowed her eyes towards Emma and Killian. "And now I'm certain you're not good parents to take care of Henry when I cannot."

For a small second, it looked like Emma was about to throw something at Regina's face – but the calming hand of Killian on her forearm seemed to dissolve that. "Well, Regina, is that all you have to say? That besides Killian and I being terrible, terrible babysitters the kids are fine?"

"I am mostly certainly not a child!" Draco protested, whining. "And I will be treated as such!"

Before any of the adults could cut his act, Hermione herself shot a stern look to her companion. "Yes, you will. We are in a different place, far away from home and I have no desire to end dead because of your stupidity."

"_My_ stupidity, Granger? That's funny because it—"

"That's enough!" Regina exclaimed in a high voice, making Hermione and Draco grimace at how she looked like Professor Snape when he was about to give a particularly nasty detention to someone. Her narrowed and severe stare, however, was more directed to Draco than to anyone else in the room and when she spoke in an overly sweet voice, it was obvious that she was trying to regain control of her temper. "My dear, sweet boy, now that you are quiet enough to hear me – could you, please, tell me what was it that Gold wanted from you?"

This was enough to make Hermione shot a smug grim in his direction – _the stupid girl, always a teacher's pet. Even when there is no teacher around._

And obviously Granger beat him to answer the older witch's question, too. "He was talking about taking Draco's heart." She looked at Emma briefly and gulped. "He said he wanted to see… how much darkness was inside it."

Regina held an eyebrow to Draco, who nodded in return.

"Well, that sounds like Gold." The Mayor said with a sigh. "But I have no idea why he would want Mr. Malfoy's heart, to be quite honest."

"Last time he wanted to create something to make him no longer attached to the dagger." Killian pipped in.

"Yes, but to do that he needed someone who knew him before everything. Thus he chose you." Regina waved the pirate off. "I think it's best for us to just keep an eye on the two of them for now."

Emma nodded, smiling slightly. "Dinner at Granny's, then?"

"Swan, it's morning already, love." Killian grimaced.

"Alright, breakfast then!" Emma grinned, looping her arm with his and gesturing for Hermione and Draco to come with them. "C'mon kids, you don't want to miss Granny's grilled cheese."

Killian shook his head, still smiling widely enough. "I wonder when you'll pick a new favorite in there."

Hermione and Draco, however, stopped listening to them to say goodbye and thanks to Regina – before they engaged in a conversation of their own while going to whatever-it-was-that-was-Granny's.

"So, Granger, why are you still so angry? Was it something I did?" Draco grinned, earning a slap on the stomach by Hermione, who still refused to look at him in the eye. "Oh, c'mon Granger. You can't be mad at me because I faced the lunatic! You know I've seen worse – I grew up with Death Eaters, after all."

"And yet you joke about it." She mumbled, still not looking away from Emma and her pirate's walking forms. "You apparently don't understand what it does to me. Don't you think I have a heart? One that is concerned about the well being of those who I care for?"

Draco rolled his eyes. "I am no Gryffindor, Granger, I'm sorry to disappoint."

"Being disappointed is not the point!" She whined, shaking her head. "The point is that we already have so much to protect you from in our own world and yet… yet you still put yourself in harm's way in a world that is not even ours!"

"I never asked for your protection, Granger, you're doing this all by—"

"Yes, you did!" Hermione snapped, finally meeting his angry eyes. "When you came to _me_ with that nonsense of running away from home, you knew I would think of ways to guarantee your safety! You knew I would become attached to you – to start caring about you – in one way or another!"

Before he could answer, a brunette and petite woman came running towards them and Emma and Killian, her happy voice interrupting their argument.

"Oh Killian! I have been looking for you! I just found a marvelous book on the library about pirates that I am certain you'll adore!" She smiled gracefully. Had Draco not been so angry with Granger, he would have made a comment about another bookworm for her to befriend. He was angry with her, though. "And hi Emma! It's good to see you."

Emma nodded and smiled, looking at Killian with an amused expression – waiting for his answer to Belle's excitement, of course; that was the third time she came to them with this same talk about pirate books.

"Ah lass, I'll make sure to check it then. Wouldn't want to miss anything you deem good." _Clever boy, _Emma thought. He already learnt that it was always better to agree with anything that Belle suggested when it came from her books.

Belle was halfway to beaming to the pirate when her eyes caught the two teens behind them, though. She offered each of them a small smile before approaching. "Hello; I'm Belle. I don't think I remember seeing you two before – but then again, I was locked in an asylum for so long that I did not see everyone yet."

Draco had his eyes widened at this. Certainly this made sense. The woman as crazy enough for him to believe she spent a season in Azkaban, really.

Emma thought this was the perfect opportunity to make Belle's day a little happier. "These two actually arrived not long ago. Came from a book – I think you might like talking to them." Emma winked to the teens and turned to Killian. "Shall we eat and wait for them inside?"

"Aye, love." He caught her grin and nodded to Draco, smiling a little before entering with his dear Swan.

Then the petite woman that reminded him so much of Hermione – Belle, it was – turned her piercing blue eyes to him and almost jumped on the balls of her feet. "Oh, really? This is incredible! Which book did you came from? Or is it a fairytale for Storybrooke's collection?"

Draco probably was eyeing with so much confusion and disgust that Granger must thought that it was better to, once again, answer in his place. Not that he minded this time, of course. "My name is Hermione Granger – it is very nice to meet you, Belle. _Beauty and the Beast_, I suppose?"

Belle nodded animatedly. "So nice to meet someone who knows stories, too!" Then she paused, as if finally processing what the name of the girl meant. "Oh dear, you _are_ Hermione Granger? From _Harry Potter_!"

Yes, apparently his argument with Granger would have to wait for another round of this bullshit oh "being from Potter" or whatever.

Hermione, however, nodded. "I suppose I am." Her smiled faded when she gestured in his direction, though. "If you know this story as well as everyone else we found, then you must have recognized Draco as well?"

Belle nodded enthusiastically. "Oh, I do! But I must admit that I never quite liked him in the novels."

Draco rolled his eyes – because, really? "Oh, well, I guess you can form a line with everyone else that can't stand me."

He was slapped on the stomach by Granger again the moment he finished his sentence. Belle, on the other hand, felt the need to justify her statement, it seemed – "Oh, no. I meant that you were not very nice with people in there, were you? Especially Hermione. I wonder why are you two together here?"

"It's a long story." Granger sighed and shook her head. "But please, don't talk about the things Draco did in the past. It hurts us both to think about it now."

Well, he would give her that – he was surprised that even angry Granger would stand for him. His anger melted a little after that, too.

"Of course!" Belle smiled apologetically. "I'm story I brought that up. I shouldn't judge a couple when it is considered who my True Love is, should I?"

"We're not a couple." Both teens said at the same time – and glared at each other shortly after.

Belle frowned – as if this concept was foreign to her. Hermione supposed it could be, considering she lived in a world of fairytales and happily ever afters. "Well." Was all she said for long seconds, before a small smile graced her lips again. "It's freezing here, isn't it? Maybe you two should go inside find Emma and Killian – you can learn a lot with their relationship, I believe. Just because you are the exact opposite of who you love… well, it doesn't make your love any smaller. Sometimes the chipped cups are the better ones, you know?"

And then she left, running back to the clock tower with her too-high heels.

Forgetting her anger, Hermione turned to Draco with a frown. "And what the bloody hell was that?"

He shrugged and motioned for her to enter the dinner.


	7. Chapter 7

When Emma was sure the kids were safely preoccupied with Belle, she dragged Killian to their table at Granny's and sighed, running both hands through her blond locks. She stopped only when she felt Killian's feet stomping slightly on hers.

"They are going to be fine, Swan, there is no need for your worries now." He said calmly, trying to give his love a little bit of his easiness.

"No, Killian." Emma glared her "don't-you-dare-shit-with-me" stare. "Don't you see? Gold is after them now, too! And they were under my responsibility! You know what? Maybe Regina was right and we are really terrible babysitters."

The insufferable pirate smiled with affection to her again. "Now my Swan, don't be like that. You are a great _babysitter_. And it just happened because the lad wanted to protect the lass. Sounds like something one would do in Storybrooke, doesn't it?"

"I don't see where this is going." Emma huffed.

And her pirate offered a deep chuckle in return. "Well, they are obviously besotted with each other, they are just too engrossed in fighting each other to realize. Now, don't you think this looks like someone we know?"

"Every single couple in Storybrooke, you mean?"

"Bloody hell, lass." He chuckled again. "I meant us. Don't they look like we did when… say, I bested you in getting that compass?"

"Oh, and then I bested you with a sword, pirate."

"Not yet, lass." They looked adoringly to each other and Emma couldn't help but smile. "I told you would _feel _it when the time of a real swordplay comes." And then he had the nerve to wink, making Emma laugh aloud.

But then the moment passed and the blonde woman was frowning, no evidence of a smile ever crossing her face at all. "But I suppose you're right. The thing is… well, you haven't read their stories, Killian. I grew up hearing them. And it is just that… no matter how much I try to look at it from different angles, I can't see the two of them happy."

Granny choose that moment to come to their table with a pair of grilled cheese and hot chocolates ("With cinnamon, Miss Swan, just like you always ask for it to be", and then she turned to Killian "And yours with coffee, pirate").

When they were alone again, Killian sighed before taking a sip of his drink. "Swan, when he met, do you honestly think – even for a small second – that we could be happy together? You had a bloody knife on my neck, lass!"

"Well, you locked me in that cell and left with Cora! I think it was only fair that I did something, too!"

Killian held up his hands in mock surrender. "Right you are, lass." Another sip from the mug of hot chocolate. "But you fail to see my point. No, lass, listen – I might have not read the story of those two, but I know what a lad infatuated with his companion looks like. And that boy cares about the girl more than he probably want to admit."

"Their world is different from ours, Hook." The last word – the pet name that only came when Swan's patience was wearing thin – made Killian grimace. "You remember how people reacted when you started… doing your tricks to 'win my heart', don't you? And people were just being stupid because they thought you were a villain!" She sighed and looked down to her untouched – and cold by now – sandwich. "In their world, Malfoy is not only part of the villains but is considered by many people one of the most despicable from there – more so when it came to how he treated Hermione."

Killian reached for her hand and intertwined his fingers with Emma's.

"But you said that for yourself before, Emma, what is happening now is not something that happened in that book of yours. You know as well as I do that it is possible to chance stories. To decide our own faith." He caressed the back of her palm with his thumb. "You are being too harsh on the lad, Swan. He's not so bad when you talk with him."

"And I suppose _you_ managed to _talk with him_?"

"Well, lass, I did!" Killian smiled smugly and once again had the nerve to wink. "Yet another of my many hidden talents."

Emma smiled slightly and took a bit of her sandwich – yes, it was indeed cold, but still good as everything else Granny did. "I still think you should read their stories before saying what you're saying. You might make me believe it and I don't want to be wrong." She paused and the smile faltered for a second before coming back. "I know how a teenage girl with a broken heart feels."

"In that case, _I suppose _you should talk to both of them separately and have your fun doing the talk that is named… uh, what is it that Henry said once that Regina did? Ah, yes. The birds and the bees."

If she didn't burst out laughing now, Emma was not sure what it was that she was currently doing. Because really, Killian could be so cute when he said things like so seriously – with even a small frown marking his beautiful forehead – and yet managing to smirk at the same time, as if he was certain he was saying something funny.

In times like that, she wondered why it was that she still couldn't tell him that she loved him. How it was that parents said to children? _To the moon and back_. It was silly, yes, but that was how she felt about that one-handed pirate full of innuendos and smug smirks. It was just… that it never felt like the right time to tell him. But she didn't know what she considered a "right time" either – maybe when someone as evil as Zelena threatened to kill one of them? Or maybe when she saw him lying motionless, victim of an infamous sleeping curse?

When the bell of the dinner rang, Emma couldn't say she was annoyed by having her thoughts interrupted. And then she realized that it were Hermione and Draco who were entering the place (the latter walking around elegantly as if it belonged to him in a way that Emma had to roll her eyes at). She looked to her side to see Killian waving and then the teens were with them, taking a seat on each side of the table.

Killian apparently was eager to play matchmaking, because the moment he felt that the new duo was comfortable – or no, not really, because both were sulking and refusing to look at each other – he opened his mouth once again:

"How was it with Belle? She's quite the excited lass, is she not?"

Draco groaned – and the pirate on his side laughed out loud. "If anyone else ever asks if I'm from Potter again, I swear I'm going to use an Unforgivable."

"You will not." Both Emma and Hermione said sternly – and then both turned to grin at each other, making Draco groan again.

Hermione shook her head and turned to Emma with an apologetic smile. "Don't mind him – he has no manners."

It was Emma's turn to smirk – well, maybe Killian was right in some point, because the Draco Malfoy she remembered reading about in her _Harry Potter _books would have immediately hexed Hermione Granger for saying that – while this one only scoffed and refused even harder than before to meet Hermione's eyes. Maybe this was what compelled her to say what came from mouth next, but she couldn't be really sure—

"We should go back to looking for new clues about the author. You two need your happy endings, right? And I'm sure Regina and Robin want theirs, too."

She didn't miss the sweet – and yet smug, of course – smile Killian offered her.

And then Ruby came to their table to ask what the new duo wanted – she didn't miss her chance to wink at Draco, for sure. And once again Emma found herself laughing at what was apparently happening in her life.

In the end, Emma did not miss the way Draco looked at Hermione when he thought she wasn't looking back, either – the very same look she often saw in Killian's eyes during their time in Nerverland.

Yes, maybe the pirate was wiser than people thought.


	8. Chapter 8

"Hey mom, do you think it's alright for Hermione and Draco to walk with to school today?" Henry smiled sweetly to Regina – almost battling his lashes in the real embodiment of innocence.

It was Regina's week – and he loved it, he really did, because that meant they could work more on Operation Mongoose – and after the incident with Grandfather Rumple and Cruella, Regina almost demanded that the two outsiders stayed with her to guarantee more safety than Emma could offer. Of course, Henry couldn't help the girly giggles that escaped his mouth (thanks God Killian hadn't seen that) when Draco sighed in relief at finally seeing a mansion – something that he deemed was "finally up to his standards".

"And why is that?" His mom asked, one skeptical eyebrow raised. "You always tell me you're old enough to go alone."

"Yes, but that's when there are no characters from _Harry Potter _to go with me!" He whined back, making Hermione giggle a little.

Upon hearing that, Draco looked with sharp eyes to the younger boy. "And what makes you think that I would want to accompany you to school?"

Henry shrugged nonchalantly. "We can stop by Granny's for a hot chocolate, I'm sure Mary Margaret will understand." Because well, if Henry learned something from the blond and often unpleasant boy, it was that he loved chocolate. And hot chocolate? He would probably give Voldemort away from a mug of Granny's hot chocolate.

Regina was preparing to open her mouth to protest when Draco's dreamy look – or whatever it was that he could look that was the closer to it – her sentences died before even being correctly structured. The boy was a pain most of the time and whenever they could make him at least a little happy, it was paradise – this way he wouldn't complain to everyone until their ears couldn't stand his high-pitched and puberty voice. In this case, everyone practically meant Regina for he and Hermione were staying with her.

Damn her the moment she decided to take them from the pirate. At least Hook seemed to enjoy chatting with the annoying boy!

Letting out a long, suffered sigh, Regina curtly nodded to her son. "I suppose you can take them with you—"

"Thank you, mom! You are the best!"

"—_only_ if I do not hear from Mary Margaret that you were late for your classes."

Henry eagerly nodded and bid his goodbyes before grabbing Hermione and Draco by their hands – who cares that he was not young enough to do that anymore? They were character from _Harry Potter_, he had every right to feel a little younger in their presence! – and went for the street.

Hermione apparently found the whole ordeal funny, because she couldn't stop giggling and rolling her eyes to Henry. Finally, she decided it was time to explain. "You remind me of Ron when he discovers he can go to Honeydukes. It's just funny to see someone so excited about a silly thing."

Henry smiled in return. "I probably would be pretty excited if I could to Honeydukes, too."

"We can go there every weekend. It's nothing that special." Draco muttered. "Weasley isn't special either. You can find people that get excited about more useful things."

"Like Quidditch gear, for example?" Hermione rolled her eyes in annoyance. "And don't open your mouth to talk about Ron – you still have a long path to walk to become half the man he is."

"_Man? _You surely don't mean Weasley?"

"Well, as a matter of fact, _Malfoy_, yes I do." She spat back and Henry was about to open his mouth to say something that might get them back at ease (maybe "It Granny's already, let's get some food!", but thinking about it, it's not a good idea – it would probably only worsen their fight about Ron Weasley by bringing food to the situation) when Hermione beat him to it. "Sometimes I wonder how is it that someone like you could have had a change of heart… when you obviously are not capable of having feeling. When it isn't about anger, you have the emotional range of a teaspoon!"

_Oh._

Now Henry had to literally bite his lip to keep from laughing – the infamous phrase Hermione Granger directed to Ron Weasley during the fifth book of the series, _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_, was just uttered in a very different situation to a very different character.

Sadly, though, Henry was the only one who found this funny.

"If you are so madly in love with the Weasel, then why are you still playing along with the people from here? Making every-bloody-one – myself included, Salazar's sake! – believe that we are a couple? Why don't you just go to one of these witches and ask for a way to go back to your precious Weasel? Surely this will be what you want so much, won't it, Granger?"

Draco was so angry – _so very angry! _– that he did not think before speaking. He did not even realize that there were some stupid tears pooling in his eyes, as if he was some stupider schoolboy who just got rejected.

As soon as the thought occurred, he wanted to laugh a little – because that was exactly what he was, liking it or not.

Someone who was so broken that didn't even want to keep with a mask. He never – at least during his stay in this freakish town, Storybook or whatever – thought he would, but he wanted the pirate's company right now. He wanted someone who could understand and… as much as he didn't want to dwell on what that meant, he was certain the pirate understood him. And if he were to cry over a stupid Gryffindor girl like the lovesick prat he was, then he would do it alone or with the pirate.

Seeing what was happening, Hermione's anger disappeared and her mouth opened in a small 'o'. She tried reaching for Malfoy's hand but to no avail – he kept retreating, walking away from her and ignoring how the snow was up to his knees.

"Draco, I… I didn't…" She tried reaching for him again – and surprisingly enough he didn't back away, but he didn't express any kind of reaction either when her skin touched his. _Merlin, he was so cold._ How could she have been so stupid to the point of arguing with him over what he only did to protect her before? He was her responsibility, after all, she shouldn't have lashed out on him like this… Merlin, Merlin, Godric must be so disappointed on her! "I didn't mean to say that. I didn't know you felt… that way… about me. I'm—"

"Ah, Miss Granger, don't apologize. You will answer a small curiosity of mine after what you did here." Gold's low, calm tone interrupted every thought running inside the heads of the three teens.

Henry was the first to restart thinking, though. And he saw a second before it happed what it was that Gold wanted to do. "Grandfather, no!"

–but it was too late. Gold had already plunged his hand in Draco's chest and removed his heart slowly, as if appreciating the pain the boy under. "I always wondered how a heart not only filled with darkness but also broken would look like." He held up Draco's heart for everyone to see while inspecting it at the same time. It resembled one he saw once, before. Regina's. Or maybe the pirate's. Dark, indeed, but with glowing points of red that without a doubt were the result of the love the foolish boy felt for this girl. But differently from Regina's or Hook's hearts, this boy's was cold as snow and did not seem to be beating at a stead rhythm. Ah, so this was what it looked like when a heart was broken.

When Gold looked back to the children, he saw the Draco boy collapsed on the ground and clutching his chest – no doubt experiencing the phantom pains one would feel after having your heart ripped off from your chest – and both the girl and his grandson kneeling by his side.

The petite girl turned her stare – full of shock and yet vacant of tears – to him and Gold felt himself smirking in return. "What did you do?!" He thought she whined, but couldn't care at this moment. Instead of offering an answer, he shrugged and was about to go away when Henry's voice stopped him:

"You coward! You are disappointing my father doing this, you know?! I thought you cared enough to do what he asked – _to stop hurting people!_"

Gold was not sure what caused him to frown – being called a coward by one of the few people he still loved or by having it thrown in his face that he was insulting Baelfire's memory – but he could not cause any harm to his grandson. So he just vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving the trio behind.

In a hurry, Henry got up and babbled something going fetch his moms but then—

Draco's weak and still trembling hand locked in his pulse, making Henry stop. "The pirate. Bring him too." He muttered and closed his eyes when another wave of pain passed through his chest, where his heart should have been. Merlin, was this how the Cruciatus Curse felt like? If it was, he would refrain from ever experimenting this particular curse, no matter what the situation might be.

When the pain finally begun to fade, Draco realized that he felt nothing. Nothing at all. No anger, no grief, no pain, no stupid feeling of caring towards Granger.

Granger.

He reckoned she was saying something while he was pain – what was it that she was saying?

Blinking hard, trying to get at least his head to work, he got up from his place on the snow to find a widen-eyed Hermione Granger clutching her hands to his shoulders, shaking him violently.

He thought he heard her insulting him and saying repeatedly his name, but before he could even decide what he thought of it, the pain came back. This time it felt as if someone was squeezing his heart, crushing to nothing. He didn't think it was possible to feel this kind of pain.

And then he once again fell to ground – but he was unconscious this time, missing the older witches and the pirate that came running down the street.


	9. Chapter 9

"—lad passed out—"

"—look like a seer to you now?"

"Ah, _Your Highness_—"

"—wonder every day how is it that Emma puts—."

"—terribly handsome."

"And how is this helping us now, um? Mr. Malfoy is still not waking up."

"—having your heart almost crushed, my Queen?—quite alright for him to be a little—"

"—you are an expert in this matter."

"Well—there was the Crocodile—yourself and your sweet mother—"

Even with his eyes closed and with only catching pieces of the sentences, Draco could tell it was the pirate and the woman with the mansion – Regina, the mayor, was that it? – that were discussing.

For as odd as it might sound, he found out that he felt _funny_. He wondered if this had anything to with the bits of the conversation he just heard – something about passing out (ahah! That made him remember the episode of Potter and the Dementor! But surprisingly enough… he didn't find it quite as funny as before) and having a heart crushed.

Heart.

He frowned.

He could not feel his heart beating. But this was an absurd, was it not? If his heart wasn't beating anymore, then he wouldn't be alive anymore either. His musings were interrupted, though, when his ears picked on what the pirate were saying again:

"—Emma said through the talking device that Hermione is still in shock and not answering to anyone—"

This had Draco's frown deepening. Granger was in shock? Because of what? The girl was a rock all the times – he wondered what could have happened to break Wonder Girl like this.

But then again… shouldn't she be here with him? He always thought she was the kid of girl to that. Hold his hand or something – even if they weren't—

Merlin. His head hurt. Had _he _been the one who passed out? No, no. Malfoys did not pass out in any—

"—started crying recently and refuses to stop. Maybe some Jell-O could help the lass?"

Jell-O? What the bloody hell…? Oh. _Jelly? _What did that have to do with anything?

"—Hook. The only thing that could possibly help was this boy waking up. God's sake, this is _not _a sleeping curse!"

"Maybe if Emma or Henry read some passages of that book of witches and wizards she came from help as well."

"—tell her and I'll take care of Mr. Malfoy."

Draco could hear footsteps – feet going away and away from him, until he could not hear anything at all. Then there were a cold hand on his forehead, making him remember more about his earlier thoughts.

_When it isn't about anger, you have the emotional range of a teaspoon!_

_If you are so madly in love with the Weasel—_

—_go back to your precious Weasel?_

_I didn't know you felt that way about me…_

And then the man with the cane, the one that had visited them before and tried taking his heart appeared. And he did take his heart this time.

Draco's eyes opened and he got up with a start, looking around madly until he felt a pair of feminine hands grasping his forearms and forcing him to lie down again.

"Shh, dear. It's alright. You are alright now." He looked for the source of the voice and found the mayor looking at him carefully, talking as if he would break at any moment.

"My heart!" He gasped at least, after several times of trying to open and close his mouth failed. He felt himself panicking. "I can't feel it!"

"Shhh!" Regina soothed again and… he thought it would be fit to feel his heart slowing to a seated rhythm but… there was nothing. "You have to stay calm, dear, just stay calm."

The pirate chose that moment to come back. He was about to open his mouth when he caught sight of Draco with his eyes open – then he was rushing towards the boy, looking at him with so much concern that Draco would want to cry; that was, if he felt anything, of course.

"Lad!" He exclaimed. "How are you feeling?"

"I don't feel a thing!" Draco exclaimed back, his eyes widen. Then his mind focused on something else. "Where's Granger? What happened to her? Can I see her?"

Killian did not have the chance to speak before Regina shook her head. "You will stay here until Whale says you can go. Then you will wait until we manage to get your back."

"But—Granger—"

"Your Highness, I really think it would be better to just let the two of them see each other – this will help both of them." Killian interfered. "Besides, I can walk with the lad to where the lass are and then bring him back here – no harm done."

"Yes, because there's not much Gold can do to him now, is there?" She frowned. But then she thought better about dark hearts, about broken hearts and about sad hearts – and changed her mind. "Just bring him back in an hour."

"Aye."

After managing to get Draco on his feet, Killian put an arm around his shoulders to stead the boy while they walked to where Emma would be waiting.

It took some seconds of silence before Draco said a quiet "Thank you."

Killian smiled a little. "Aye."

When the blonde witch that was always attached to the hip of the pirate, Draco wanted to run to her and demand that she said where Granger was – but it apparently was not a necessity for she nodded when realized their presence and opened a door for him. "Go ahead, Malfoy. Just… just be patient with her."

Draco did not even think before nodding and de-attaching from the pirate to go find Granger—

—but he was not ready to see that she was seated on a white/blue bed crying softly and hugging her knees. It felt like an instinct, being pulled to her direction until he could hug her to his chest, pressing her trembling body to the where his heart should have been.

"Oh—Draco, I—" She stuttered when she realized he was the one holding her this time instead of Emma. "I didn't—I didn't—I thought—"

"It's alright, Granger. No need to cry." He frowned and looked down at her when he remembered the last words of their argument. "I suppose now you might be right. I do not have any emotional at all." His frown deepened. "Perhaps now you have yet another reason to prefer the Weasel, uh?"

He tried to joke – he really did.

But it only resulted in Hermione crying harder, shaking harder in his arms. Maybe it was because of the bitter sound of his voice… or the way he spoke with so much irony that only someone without a heart could refrain from feeling hurt.

"Now, Granger, I was just—"

"—Don't—you—dare—!" She said between sobs, shaking her head the whole time, messing her messy hair so much more than it seemed natural. "I—thought—you were—were—dead! And—and… that the last thing you thought—was that I—that I—" Her voice and sobs died all at once – Draco even checked to see if she was still awake and breathing – and stayed like this until she whispered again: "That I did not care about you enough." She shook her head, still refusing to meet his eyes. "That I did not care about you the way you said you cared about me, I'm—I'm so sorry, Draco, I am—"

"It's alright." He repeated, still holding the crying girl in his arms. He wished he had his heart right now – he wished to know how he would be feeling after hearing such a thing from Granger, but… he wanted to smack his head in the nearest wall repeatedly, but he felt nothing. Not a single thing. "It's alright."

Then something he was not expecting at all happened: she leaned against his chest and pressed her ear to where his heart used to live. And then she looked up at him with an unreadable expression.

"You're still warm" She said. "It's a good thing. I will take care of you better when we sort this mess, alright?" She forced a smile but it was obvious that the only thing she managed was a delicate frown. "I promise, Draco."

And then she leaned even closer to him and pressed her lips on the corner of his, kissing the side of his mouth so delicately that Draco felt like crying.

He finally did when _she_ hugged him and he felt her own heart beating, loud and fast – as his should have been.


	10. Chapter 10

"No, Emma, you must have heard wrong. He wouldn't do that – not after all the trouble he had before."

It was a funny thing how faster the rumor mill of Storybrooke worked. Killian and Emma herself had just managed to separate Hermione and Draco (not before her pirate gave large bowls of colorful jelly to them, as it was expected) when people started coming in or calling her phone. It was extremely annoying – because, for Walt Disney's sake, why everyone thought she would know what to say after this happened? In all honesty, despite being sore and tired, she wanted nothing more than to hit Gold in the face.

So imagine her surprise when – blessed the author for deciding that should happen, actually – Belle, of all the people, called her. The poor girl had heard from Ruby, who heard from Granny, who heard from Leroy that the blonde outsider had had his heart taken by Gold. Of course the story had many tweaks by now, but that was in no way what Belle wanted to discuss.

Emma massaged her temple before answering. "Look, Belle, I know this is not what you wanted to hear, but… I'm afraid Gold did take Malfoy's heart. The kid was I shock until an hour ago, actually."

Even so, she could still _feel_ Belle's hope that it was a mistake through her sharp breaths.

Finally, the younger woman settled for her concerned tone – "Is he alright? Draco, I mean. He must have been terrified, never seeing it happen before. Do you think he would like a book? I think I have the first _Harry Potter _book in the library with me."

"You could do that." Emma conceded, if only to make Belle happy. She sighed tiredly. "And Belle? If you see Gold around, kick him in the ass for me, alright?"

Belle chuckled a little. "I'll make sure to go visit Draco and will bring the book with me."

"See you later, Belle."

As soon as she turned her phone off, Emma smiled slightly when Killian appeared on her side, a small frown on his forehead.

"I just went to check on the lad. Regina won't back off from his door, though – I think she is waiting for the Crocodile to show his ugly face."

"Yeah." Emma nodded without really thinking about it. "But how's Malfoy?"

"Sleeping. After the Jell-O and seeing the lass, he relaxed enough to sleep again."

"Belle said she would pass by to drop a book for him."

When Emma sighed and rubbed her forehead for the third time, Killian sighed as well and embraced his Swan carefully. "Maybe you should go back to your home, lass. Sleep a little as well. I'll stay here with the little lass and the lad, it's no problem."

"No, Hook." Emma shook her head in dismissal, looking slightly annoyed. "I won't be able to get any rest before I before Gold in the face."

The pirate chuckled. "Trust me, Swan, if he shows his face here, then I will be happy to do this for you. And then I can call you thorough the talking device for you to do the same."

Emma seemed to ponder about this for a few seconds. "Are you sure? I can stay a little longer."

"I can handle it, Swan."

She nodded once. Then twice. And then a small frown. "You care a lot about Malfoy, don't you?"

Despite of himself, the pirate bit his lip. "He's good lad. I'll do everything I can to help him, love. He's just a lad who's a little lost, but he _is_ good."

"Remind you to lend you my _Harry Potter_ books. Or maybe we could watch the movies together?" Emma grinned before pecking her boyfriend on the lips and turning around—

—only to come face-to-face with Maleficent herself. Her fingers were already grasping the cold metal of her gun when she felt magic hit her arm – not allowing her to do what her mind screamed to do, what her _Savior instincts _were screaming for her to do. When she looked to her side, she saw that Killian's hook was firmly pressed to the wall on his back, his face looking murderous.

"I'm not here to fight with any of you." The witch said slowly, raising her hands but not lifting the magic on their wrists. "And I do not wish any harm upon the boy."

"Oh, of course – you are _obviously_ here to pass your _very good_ wishes for him, Maleficent." Emma sneered, her voice dripping sarcasm. "He certainly doesn't need that from you."

Maleficent actually laughed a little. "Yes, if his name is anything to go by." She smiled and wriggled her dark eyebrows. "But I do believe he needs his heart – does he not?"

"And you have it?" Killian hissed, struggling with his useless arm attached to the wall.

Emma held one eyebrow up, her hand still halfway through her gun.

"No, I do not." Maleficent said slowly, focusing her stare solemnly on Emma. "But I can get it for you if you agree in doing something for me in return."

"The Crocodile has the lad's heart!" Killian exclaimed, enraged that his arm would still not move. "How the bloody hell do you plan on getting it back?"

"This, _pirate_, is something that only I should worry about. But if you want to know, Rumple dear isn't interested in doing anything with that heart. From what I know, he took as a souvenir from something he thinks is prized and was denied to him."

"Ah, sure thing. So he will just keep the kid's heart with him forever? Just because he's feeling like it?"

"Miss Swan, in case you don't remember, Rumpelstintskin doesn't share much of his plans with me – as I do not share mine with him either." Maleficent answered in annoyance. "Now, I ask you again: will you do a favor to me in return of the boy's precious, little dark heart?"

Frowning and then proceeding to bite her lips, Emma nodded slowly, carefully. "What do you want?"

"Swan!"Killian exclaimed. "Don't make deals with this witch! It could be the Crocodile for all that we know!"

Maleficent chose to ignore the pirate, still focusing on the Savior instead, her eyes wide, glittering with something that was in no way malice or evilness. "I want something that your parents took from me – something that I know you are familiar with." She started slowly, her mouth pressing on a thin line for a few seconds. "I want you to find and bring my Lilith back to me."

She did not dare to look at Killian before nodding already to the witch in front of her – and only then she realized that the glint in Maleficent's eyes were tears. She was a mother, too, after all.

Then the pressure on her wrist – and Killian's as well, Emma supposed – was released.

"Excellent." Maleficent beamed. "I will be waiting for her with the heart of your precious boy."

And in a puff of purple and thick smoke, Maleficent was gone.

It was only then that Emma dared to look at her boyfriend – only to find an unreadable look on his eyes.

"Killian…"

He shook his head. "Go home, Swan. You still need your sleep. I'll call if anything else changes."

Emma sighed. And nodded. "You understand why I agreed with her, don't you, Killian?"

He nodded curtly in return. "Don't think about it now. We will _both _think about it when you are rested enough."

And it was it – he turned his back to her and walked down the corridor (no doubt going to check in on Malfoy again, his suspicions that Maleficent was distracting them while someone tampered with his protégée clear as the day) and Emma retreated to the Bug, ready for a much needed nap.


	11. Chapter 11

"May I come in?" A voice sounded from Hermione's door, startling her a little. When she rubbed the tears and sleep off of her eyes, she realized that the voice belonged to Regina, the "Evil Queen" that more often than not assumed the hole of Mrs. Weasley as a mother hen.

The thought almost made Hermione chuckle. "Do come in…"

When Regina passed through the door with the exact same expression Molly often wore when she worried about one of her children – related to her by blood or not – Hermione allowed herself to smile a little. Well, her earlier thoughts apparently were correct. She wondered, for a brief moment, if someone so alike Molly Weasley could ever be called _the Evil Queen_ when she obviously had nothing evil in her body and soul. At least not that Hermione could see with her bare eyes.

She must have let her mind wander off because Regina cleared her throat while still standing on the door. "I'm sorry, I was just thinking. It seems that it's the only thing I'm good at lately. Or no, not really, because look at what happened to Draco…"

Regina frowned lightly and came next to Hermione's whitish bed. "That was hardly your fault, Miss Granger. I am pretty sure you have heard enough stories about Gold to be aware that he does these kind of things on a… regular basis."

"Still." Hermione shook her head in distress. "I'm a witch! This should've been worth of something! Don't you think?"

"Hardly, my dear. We are all witches here and have all suffered from that… heartache at one point or another." Carefully, tentatively, Regina sat on the bed and gently stroked Hermione unruly hair. "I'm certain Mr. Malfoy will be up and about in a few – ready to annoy the daylights out of us again. You shouldn't worry so much about it really."

The younger witch pursed her lips but leaned on Regina's hands, enjoying the feel of someone brushing (sort of) her hair. "I just… want to go home."

"Understandable." The mayor nodded and composed herself, looking every bit like a Queen again. "As soon as the issue with Malfoy's heart is fixed, we'll look into a solution for you. To take you back home."

Hermione thought the odd stinging sensation in the back of her eyes meant she was going to cry. She couldn't care less right now – after having cried "her eyeballs out", as Ronald would most likely kindly point out.

Swallowing, Hermione looked on the mayor's eyes and forced a small smile – for the sake of which one of them, she was not sure. "Where is Emma now? And Killian? Are they alright?"

"Hush!" Regina tsked, once again sounding like Mrs. Weasley. "The pirate is with Malfoy right now, presumably making sure no one harms him. Stubborn pirate, that one is. Emma… she went home to sleep a little. You would be surprised at how much she hears to what Hook has to say."

"Good to know that at least one of us is trying to rest, really." She sighed. "The two of them are a lovely couple, it is not a surprise that they hear what the other has to say. Which reminds me, actually, that you once mentioned your… _True Love_," Hermione stopped herself from sneering, the concept of being destined to a person reminding her too much of Trelawney's nonsense, "is Robin Hood."

It didn't seem like the wisest thing to say for Regina's face was stripped of all signs of emotions at that. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry—"

"It's alright." Regina said, though it sounded the words came from between clenched teeth. "It just is not something that I'm used to discuss with someone… that is not Henry. Or Emma, for the matter.

"I'm sorry."

Regina waved her off. "I don't know how much Emma told you about what happens to you and Malfoy in the books you come from, but… I would advise you to avoid giving up on him. Everyone, Miss Granger, is worth of a happy ending. I have enough years of living between the heroes to know that even people like Lord Voldemort or Bellatrix Lestrange are worthy of their happy endings, if they only made the right choices at some point." She swiftly turned their conversation.

This Hermione couldn't help snorting. _As if! _Regina must have caught on that, because she smiled lightly. "Well, if you believe they can't be happy at all, then why should I? Or Draco? We were all born with the same purpose – all of our authors designed us to be the villains."

"It's not true!" Hermione whined, pulling at the ends of her hair. "You, Draco, Killian, you are all good! At least there is some sort of good inside each one of you – I know it! I have seen it!" She shook her head and wrinkled her nose. "You-Know-Who and Gold, they are not worth the dirt under their feet! They will never, ever, deserve a happy ending of any sort!"

Regina smiled that motherly smile of hers then. "Hermione, dear, Gold saved us once, you know? You would have never knew any of us now were it not for him. Killed himself to protect the rest of us – he had good inside of him as well, once I'm certain he did." She paused. "And I am fairly sure Belle would endorse that, they are True Loves after all. As for Voldemort, don't you think if someone such as yourself had reached him at his younger years things would have turned out differently? If someone as yourself extended a hand to him, like you did to Draco?"

Hermione opened her mouth to retort with something when she was stopped, once again, by Regina. "And I, my dear, have had my fair share of murders. I killed my own father, Miss Granger, because I thought it would bring me some happiness. And yet you think of me as deserving of an ending that is anything but terrible?"

"It's different." She insisted. "You didn't try to kill Draco!"

The older witch laughed without humor. "I tried to kill Snow White more times than I care to count. I tried to kill Emma! Do you think there is anything that I hate about myself more than that?!"

When she was about to answer – what, she had absolutely no idea – Killian stormed through the door, interrupting anything that might have crossed Hermione's mind.

"Bloody Maleficent is here again!" He bellowed – but it didn't like he was angry… which almost made Hermione hope that it was something good that brought him here. "She brought the lad's heart back!"

Hermione finally allowed herself to hope, forgetting for a moment what Regina had said.

Draco's heart was back.

Draco was going to be back.

Draco was going to be alright.

And she would hug him for hours when it was all settled, she vowed to herself.


	12. Chapter 12

Hermione launched herself from the bed in a heartbeat and ran to Killian, hugging him when she decided she would hug Draco in a moment. "Oh, this is wonderful! Can I see him? Can I talk to him? How is he? Tell me, Killian!"

Regina was there quicker than Hermione thought was possible – especially after their conversation, where the Queen had looked shaken to her core. Putting the thoughts away, Hermione focused on Killian now – he had news about Draco! And this was what she had wanted all along!

"Maleficent brought it back as she said?" Regina muttered, mouth a little open in a very unlike-herself-fashion along with both eyebrows held high. "Seems like she do want Emma's help. By the way, have you called Emma already? I'm sure she would like to be here right now."

"Aye, just talked with her through the talking device." Killian nodded, prying Hermione off of him at the same time. From the look on his face when talking about Emma, 'Mione could bet there was trouble in paradise. They were always so happy and sunshine and sweets that it was a little odd to picture the two of them fighting. Anyhow, Hermione shook the thoughts away once again. No time or energy to focus on these two now.

And she had to admit she was a little annoyed that Killian had yet to answer any of her questions. Huffing, she pushed herself away from him and started walking… only she had no idea where Draco's room was and was forced to stop after turning several corridors that looked exactly the same.

"Bugger!" She exclaimed and blushed when the redhead with a tight bun on her head and a rose looked at her.

When she was about to curse with something that was much more Ron-like than she would have liked to hear coming from her mouth, Hermione saw Regina running to her. "His room is right here, Miss Granger!" She pointed to the left with a somewhat amused expression. _Oh, double bugger!_

Nodding, Hermione took off to that direction and slammed open the first door she saw. Thankfully, it was Draco's door. His eyes widened for half a second before he opened a big grin to Hermione, opening his arms in an invitation of a hug.

She wasted no time.

"Oh, Draco! Draco, Draco, Draco!" She chanted, her arms securely wrapped on his neck. Hermione couldn't even describe the relief she was feeling now, seeing him smiling and… Oh! She put her head on his chest and, in a hurry, willed his body to show her that his heart was indeed back to where it belonged. _Thump, thump, thump_ was answer enough for her to break in a smile of her own. "I'm so glad you're alright! I was—was—so worried! You can never—ever—do that to me again!"

The boy was about to speak after giving the young witch a smirk when she re-started her mumblings, cutting him off. At the distance, Regina and Killian watched them both with amusement on their eyes. Happiness was something that went wider than the plague in Storybrooke, it seemed.

"I'm not finished yet, young man!" She screeched, her eyes brightening with tears. "I don't have a faintest clue about when it happened, but I won't have you being heartless on me before you know a few things! Firstly, I never intended on making _anyone _believe we were a couple, Draco Malfoy! But unfortunately for us, I myself believe in this as well. So now you'll just have to learn how to deal with the fact that I am not letting you go – nor letting you have your heart actually taken from your chest again!" She slapped his arm with each sentence – by the end of it, he had a huge red mark appearing on his pale skin. But alas, Hermione Granger still had yet to finish. She hugged him again – tighter this time, as if afraid he would disappear if she let go – and incredibly started crying. "And now we will go back to Hogwarts, back to Harry's story where we will start _our own story. _Without any author telling us what to do." She looked at Regina, who nodded slightly. "Aye?"

Then Killian chuckled, muttering something that sounded like _bloody lass_.

Draco, however, couldn't care less about the mayor or the pirate's expression right now – all he could see was Granger saying these things and feel so much happiness at it and at having the power _to feel _again! Without really thinking about it, Draco leaned against Granger and kissed her full on the lips for a second or two.

"Aye, Granger. Aye."

And they were laughing _so bloody hard_ and kissing and hugging and laughing again that he couldn't even say that he cared about his brain feeling like mush now.

This was how Emma found them, fifteen minutes later.

She frowned for some long seconds before turning to Killian and holding up one eyebrow. He laughed like the kids after this, giving her winks and one-armed hugs that clearly showed he had forgotten his… issues with her decisions for a while. Emma breathed a sigh of relief at that, she couldn't help it.

"They seem finally happy, don't they?" She murmured to her pirate, still eyeing Malfoy and Hermione ignoring everything but each other.

"Aye, love." Killian nodded, not taking his eyes from the kids as well. "That they do."

"Never thought I would see something like that; not even when I started believing that every character from every story I read is real."

Sobering a little after sharing a kiss of her own with Killian, Emma pushed her pirate to the side and whispered: "Where's Maleficent? I thought she would wait for me to do what she wanted before even considering the matter with Malfoy's heart."

Killian pursed his lips and Emma almost cursed – she might have been the Savior, but sometimes she was just plain stupid, wasn't she? Remembering him that they were fighting when everything was so at peace!

"She gave the heart to me and went back to do whatever it is that she does here." Killian's voice, however, showed no sign of anger – just confusion and a little bit of curiosity. "Bloody witch had the nerve to _wink_ at me as well!"

Emma wanted to laugh – she really did – but her thoughts were running wild now and there was nothing she could do. Nodding to Killian, she gestured for Regina to come closer to them. "Well, I'm going to New York City _run some errands_ for dear Maleficent and you two are the ones I trust the most here," she started, biting her lower lip and once again checking on the children, "Mary Margaret told me that Anton told her that Leroy told him that Jefferson had two beans stocked with him. Maybe you both could convince him to give these to you so you can take the magical pair back to Hogwarts?"

"I don't suppose the dwarf said anything about a curse coming or being already in here?" Regina sneered, laughing to herself.

Emma frowned at Regina, who laughed without much glee this time. "I'm sorry, Miss Swan, I couldn't resist that one."

"Sure you couldn't." Emma rolled her eyes. "So, can you two do it? I know it should be my job to give them their happy endings and all but with Maleficent on my neck—"

"It won't be a problem, Swan." Killian said, though he didn't sound so sure of himself. "The Queen and I shall do just fine."

"If you say so."

Turning to Regina, Emma saw that the mayor wanted to laugh again – at what, she couldn't say. Perhaps Hermione or Malfoy had hit Regina with a _Rictumsempra_ – the _Tickling Charm_, in other words – without realizing it?


End file.
